


Looking Glass

by NervousAliceCurious



Category: Original Work
Genre: Deconstruction, Gen, Kinda But It's Not The Main, Lore - Freeform, Magic School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:21:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 16,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27094972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NervousAliceCurious/pseuds/NervousAliceCurious
Summary: Alice crawled through a mirror and found another world on the other side. But they weren't ready for her inexperience, and neither was the rest of the universe. How do you control a blaze you've just discovered? If possible. . . . . .
Comments: 20
Kudos: 2





	1. Prolouge: Alice, Fire In The Dance

**Author's Note:**

> Cw: Mentions food and drink, drinking, implied alcohol.

These days, I don’t sleep.

Worrying for the future is my new job, haha.....

I wish I could just turn it off.

But when I do, I start to feel like everything’s a dream.

.......I know I should tell someone, but I’m not sure how I could even explain what’s wrong.

-So that, is my life.

Not even rping with my friends could keep my mind away. . . . . . .

I sighed.

Shut my computer screen-

_Time for bed._

1 AM.

Lucky thing, I didn’t have to get up so early tomorrow.

I closed the bathroom door.

...

When I was done, I found myself staring in front of the mirror:

A tired-looking girl with golden-blonde hair and gray-blue eyes.

I _really_ needed a shower.

-My foot chose that moment to balance wrong, and I almost fell.

My hand hit the glass-

It...slid right through-!??

“Huh-“

I closed my mouth, quick.

_Oops. . ._

I hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

But...still-

I looked around, which was silly, because there was no one else inside here but me.

My mom had told me not to go through mirrors until after graduation.

(Yes, really).

But...

If I didn’t _stay......._

If I kept my eye on the time, would I still be good?

If I didn’t even go for very long. . . . . . . . . .

Like I’d already mentioned, I didn’t have to get up early.

. . .

I tried to climb into the sink.

(Ew-)

I felt a shiver of disgust run through me.

(Ewewew-)

I ducked my head through the quicksilver.

A low roar met my ears.

I blinked-

A vaguely-Hogwarts-like space.

Rich, brown walls......

I climbed all the way through.

_Whoa....._

Landing neatly on the floor, I opened the bathroom door......

I didn’t want to forget where I’d come in.

I had nothing to mark it with-

Something jingled.

-Right.

I’d brought my room keys in with me.......

I couldn’t afford to leave them, though.........

Hm...................

Well.....

I shrugged a sneaker from my heel.

This would just have to do.

I guess-

I started down the hallway, following the sound.

Sweet, golden lights, floated. . . . . .

The air smelled fragrant, and warm.

White, and lavender flowers were twined around columns, and I could just see shadows moving in a circle of brightness-

It was a dance.

Everyone had a partner, and everyone was masked.

I couldn’t make head nor tail of it.

Feeling shy, I shuffled over to the drinks table-

Pink punch, and chocolate cakes.

Yum!

I scooped some strawberry-scented liquid into a cup.

I took a sip-

Mm. . .

It tasted fruity.

-I was beginning to feel light-headed already.........

-And that made me put the drink down.

_Don’t leave it unattended!_ my brain reminded me...

I highly doubted that I would be back for it.

Feeling dizzy, now, I looked around.......

The world had turned pink, and the silhouettes had become HD richness.

-I saw my palms, spark-

_What-_

I stepped into the midst of the crowd.

I felt like a vivid blur.

With my bright pajamas, and one shoe-

_This is wild._

Nobody seemed to notice that I was there.

-Which was fine with me.

I didn’t know anyone anyway.

I ended up in an oft-unnoticed corner, and began to tap my foot in time with the music.

It wasn’t a song I knew, but the bass, man...

Thumped _right_ in my heart.

I spun around a little bit-

“May I have this dance?”

“Um-“

Uh.

A-

A guy.

. . .

I couldn’t make out anything past the tall, black shadow.

“Who are you-“

-Wait, why did I say that?

“I’m-“

I lost the name.

“. . . . . .Can I think about it?”

“Sure-“

“Thanks”.

I hurried away.

Guys, are **_terrifying._**

...................................................................

When I stopped, I could hear fluttering dresses around me.

And here I was, in pants-

Hey, at least I could move easier.

The beat had picked up.

So had my heartbeat.

I could feel myself slipping before I even realized what was going on.

I also felt kind-of self-conscious so I just kinda swayed a little in place...

I just didn’t want any comments.

-My veins were glowing blue.

How weird--

I lifted up my hands.

Flames streaked off them-

I heard a few shrieks.

_Oops..._

Is this how Anna would have reacted to her powers?

It only seemed pretty to me.....

“Cool....”

-Yes, I registered the irony.

I twirled in a circle, seeing the illuminated circle glow around me-

The shrieks switched to ‘oohs’.

-Fine by me.

I let it flow into the air, creating gorgeous, sky-colored flames................

I thought I saw some sparkles in there too.

I just had to squint-

_How can I do-_

I didn’t have power.

Not like that-

Not in Reality, by any means.

Unless you counted sheer determination....

_-Eh, I don’t know._

I shrugged.

I was a _lot_ more confident with no one watching.

The fire screen....

BEEP!!

BEEP!!!

**BEEP!!!!**

-Crap, the fire alarm.

I jumped six feet-

My fire flowed up in one great _burst,_ and smoked a hole through the ceiling!!

_Oh...dear-_

People were scattering for the exit-

_I need to get back to the mirror!_

I spun around myself.

Searching-

There!

I ran.

I ran as fast as I could----

I tripped, and lost my other shoe.

Kicked back into the punch bowl-

It overturned.

Strawberry sloshed, and filled the air.....

_I’m sorry!!_

I apologized in my head.

My pulse pounding, I threw open the door to the bathroom, thank _goodness_ it wasn’t too far away!!

I slammed it shut.

I tried to get my breathing back under control-

. . . . . . . .

Okay.

I faced the mirror.

_Time to go back now-_

Time to _definitely_ go back.

I hoisted myself into the sink again, and left.

The quicksilver rippled around me-

Licked with the last flickers of fire.

_Dang it, don’t set off the alarm in your suite-!_

Nobody wanted to be woken up like that at 2 AM, _trust_ me.

I practically fish-flopped onto the floor-

_Ow-_

I scrambled up, taking one last check of my hands-

Then I flung open the door again, and flung open the door to my room.

This too, was already starting to feel like a dream.


	2. Chapter 1: Envy & Kokoro, Scrapyard Adventure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dance is over, but questions still remain. -And unexpected hazards too, apparently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Brief mentions loud sounds, nyctophobia. Stranger fear.

We had to wait an _hour_ for the magic fire trucks to arrive.

I spent most of that time flickering in and out of consciousness...

The tree I was leaning on was just that comfortable.

-Sometimes, I would imagine that I wasn’t alone.

...

I missed them a lot lately....

My sister, and my brothers-

The last I’d heard from her was that she was ‘going off teh the sea’”.

. . .

The others, I’d lost contact with.

I’d come here for...

A reason, but she’d left.

If I could’ve snuck back in to look for her, I would have.

However, my luck, is horrendous.

Always has been.

I don’t really risk much, anymore...

-AND that was the siren, ugh, so loud. . . . . !

I covered my ears.

Forget that....

I walked off.

No way I wanted to risk becoming deaf this late at night.

Although it _did_ terrify me that I was just-

Going to enter the unknown like I _didn’t_ have a paralyzing fear of the dark.

-Well, it wasn’t like anyone else could see to hurt me, either.......

I entered through the garden.

I’d gotten lucky-

Small, faerie lights floated in the bushes.....

I heard scribbling.

“-?”

Little known fact:

There was a scrapyard in back of the school.

I stepped in-

I tried to be careful, but in the end, I still slipped over the side of the railing anyway-

“Woah-!??”

I quickly withdrew vines-

My arm muscles grew taut.

I was just _barely_ hanging over the ‘Cursed Objects’ pit-

_Okay, okay, don’t panic-_

Even as I thought that, I could feel my heartbeat racing.

_At least the railing hasn’t broken yet._

**SNAP**

_I just **had** to-!!_

Too late.

Open air-

_Nononono wait-!!!!_

A tiny hand grasped onto my fingers.

-For a moment, there was hope.

But I outweighed them.

We fell down together-!???

_Owie. . ._

My palms hurt.

I landed on my knees.....

The tall man has funny ears.

“Ow...ow....ow....!!”

His coat was all covered in rust.

And his hair was all over his face.

“Darn it-“

-I don’t think that’s a bad word.

He sat up.

He had blinky, green eyes, and they were pretty.

“-You’re just a kid”.

“You’re old”.

“-“

He _is._

He is a tall, old person.

And I am 5.

“What’s. . .your name-“

“......”

I stood up.

_Mommy said to never talk to strangers-_

“-Sorry”.

He stood too.

“-Man, I can’t believe I crashed down here”.

I pulled on the strings to make my raincoat tighter.

It is pink.

And I like pink.

“And I accidentally brought you down with me.....”

“Mm. . .”

I rubbed my eyeballs.

“W-well......”

He rubbed his arm.

“Th-there must be a way out”.

“It’s over there”.

I pointed.

“-Oh”.

Stair-ladder.

I come here all the time-

“Thanks”.

“..........M’sleepy”.

I hopped over all the big tires, and all the melty-desks.

_Korokuma, I am returneding now-_

She was a cute, kid...

If a little strange.

Her red shoes stood out like a spotlight.

I followed her up the ladder, and into the garden again......

I could just make out a cordoned-off section with cardboard.

Did she make that?

And for what?

. . .

I mean, it was none of my business....

“Are you here alone?”

-My brain worked slower than my mouth, apparently. . . . .

“-Creepy!”

-She ran away.

_-I...oh no. . ._

I scared away another one-

Crap.

I sighed.

_So much for trying to make friends..._

I couldn’t hear the siren anymore.

_Thank goodness._

I hung out a little bit longer to inspect the moonflowers, and then I went back inside.

“-I am here now...”

I picked up my pencil.

“There was a strange, clumsy man”.

-He can’t talk yet.

“I’m almost done-“

Just have to finish the blueprints.

_Mommy, daddy, are gonna be so surprised-!_

And then we can eat cookies, and be happy.

She left her shoe in the ballroom.

The janitor was scrubbing up the mess-

Smoke stains oddly sparkled on the walls.

I ran a finger across one of them.

_Yeah. . ._

The friction of the grains created tiny bursts of light.

_She’s got it-_

Now if I could just find her again-

“Hey, what are you doing!?”

“Um”.

-That was the brilliant reply that jumped to my throat.

“-I was just-l-leaving-“

And so I did.

-I also tripped on the stereo.

The plug pulled out of the wall-

The janitor just shook his head.

Which made it worse-

_How do I always-!?_

Keep walking keep walking-

....?

Is that a-

The bathroom at the end of the hallway.

Was being held open a crack.

It looked like a-

I looked down at my other hand.

It didn’t take me long to get over there.

No one was inside it.

(Phew...)

With a vine, I lifted the other shoe.

Nothing but the toilet, the sink, and the mirror.

_That’s odd..._

I put my hand to the-

The door shut.

I startled, and _broke_ it-

_Nnnno-_

Oh no.

Uhhhh-

_How do I fix that!??_

-The elixir.

It’d heal the damage right up-

I re-opened the door.

Nerves shaking. . .

It was up in my room.

The Guest Room-

I hadn’t meant to stay long.

I let it swing closed.

_-I swear, I’m so good at creating my own setbacks._

I open a portal.

_Don’t want to disturb anyone..._

I step into the tiny chamber-

OW my head-!!

It never fails. . .

The low ceiling always defeats me.

I had to search through my drawers, but-

Got it!

_Alright._

_There we go-_

I re-opened the portal.

OW-my head-

I winced. . .

-Ohmygosh whatwasthat-

Ha.

...Mind playing tricks on me.

Coulda sworn I saw that kid in the mirror....

I ran a hand over my face.

_Clearly, I need to be more careful._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Children are amazing.


	3. Chapter 2: Alice, The Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Was it really all just a dream? She's about to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Phys. fighting, brief mention being drunk. Blood. Vomiting mention.

I slept ‘till noon. . . . .

Ugh...

My head was _pounding._

Ouch...

_Don’t you know you’re not supposed to_ do _that to the punch-!!_

I guess not.

I entered the bathroom. .. ...

My stomach was feeling skittish.

I leaned on the sink with both hands.

I swallowed.

_Don’t throw up...don’t throw up-_

-Did I really set off the alarm?

My cheeks flushed, remembering.

_I think I did......_

Oh nooo-

Well....

Nothing I could do about it now.

But the _irony-_

I wafted my hand into the mirror.

The quicksilver felt cool and thick to the touch.

Like weighted water.

_So strange._

How could I even do this?

I’d never been able to make it through, before...

And I’d _never_ been able to spout fire.

Even as I lifted my hands......

Blue flickers-

My veins were a more vivid-blue than usual.

_I should probably get that checked out-_

And I should also probably be more careful.

_Don’t accidentally set off the alarm here-_

I stared at my own reflection.

_...Do I want to go back through?_

Yesterday had been...nice.

It had been straight out of a storybook. . .

Kind-of.

I just hoped whatever was going on wouldn’t wind down the same route as Harry Potter, if you know what I mean.....

I hesitantly reached my arm through.

Climbed onto the sink again-

(Ew!)

I spilled out.

Someone had been here.

They’d tracked in coppery-stuff....

I righted myself, then looked behind me.

The mirror had faint crack lines in it.

The shoe I’d left behind was gone.

Who’d taken it-

_Maybe it’ll be in the Lost & Found._

-Which I didn’t know where that was-

_Or..._

I could ask someone?

Providing I didn’t get tossed outside on the spot for trespassing........

I cautiously walked down the corridor. . . . . . .

I wasn’t sure who or what I would find.

_Hello?_

-Okay, don’t tempt fate...

I heard a whirring.

_That can’t be good._

-And I was _right-!!_

I just barely moved out of the way of a giant dustpan.

It made a _crack_ in the floor-

It was a huge, sweeping machine!!

I couldn’t even see the _face,_ just two, glowing, red eyes.

“Uh-um-!!”

I wanted to speak, but-

A robotic claw came at me-!!

I ran away.

“Wait, wait, wait-!!”

_“Intruder-“_

“That’s wrong-“

_Kind-of-!!_

I ran into a wall.

_Crap-!!_

I spun around.

My hands were thrown up to protect me-

Blue fire _exploded._

“Whoah-!??”

The robot hissed, pulled back-

_How did I just do that-!??_

“Sorry-!”

I tried to duck for where I’d seen the dance take place, but I was blocked.

“I really _am_ sorry-“

I backpedaled.

I was blocked from the other side.

Red lenses, darting-

This _wasn’t_ good.

I was caught between plaster and a hard place!

“Uhh...”

They clanked for me-

I leaped in-between them.

Bruising my elbows along the carpet.

“Ouch-!!”

I painfully picked myself up.

The robotic skull zig-zagged on a long neck to stare at me.

_“Name?”_

“Alice-“

_I said that without thinking-!_

Data whirred behind red glass.

_“Student Not-Recognized”._

“-What does that mean!?”

-It meant, I was about to be hoisted and grabbed.

My hands intercepted one-

The metal edges, cut.

I felt my body warm-

Heat flared in my hands, and crept along the limb.

_“-!??”_

They yanked it away.

Blood spotted the floor.

It bloomed blue-black.

A funny...feeling came over me. . . . . . . . .

I couldn’t stop _staring_ at it.

-The other hand locked around my upper body.

“-!!”

I let out a cry of shock.

Struggled to get free-

Wherever I pounded, the iron pitted.

The heat was getting more and more intense--

I was lifted to lock gazes.

I could sense that I was trembling.....

_“Threat: Captured-“_

I couldn’t hold it anymore.

Fire _exploded_ out of me, melted the sweeper into an odd-looking candle.

I _fell-_

“AHHHHHHHHHHH!???”

I slammed into the floor.

“Ow. . . . .”

_I didn’t pass out?_

Apparently not...

I achingly sat up.

Clutching my sore arm---

“Mabel!” someone exclaimed.

Running footsteps.

Kids in robes.

-Well, some.

“What happened!?”

“Is she dead-“

I certainly _hoped_ not. . .

_“. . . .. Magic: Registered”._

It sounded throughout the loud speakers of the school.

-I was assuming it was a school now...

_“Informing Headmistress”._

_Aw, man-_

“Hey you”.

“Huh-“

The small crowd was addressing me-

“What the heck was that!?”

“Who _are_ you!?”

“I’m...Alice?”

“-No way”.

The boy in front shook his head.

“Not with _that_ hair-“

I was about to ask him what he thought he was saying-

“Wait, what?”

The blonde girl pulled a tiny mirror from her cloak’s pocket, and showed me.

“HUH-“

Blonde had turned to blue and I had watermelon eyes.

“What...what the-!??”

I swayed to my feet.

My cold, bare legs-

I was giving Wonderland vibes, if Wonderland could be said to have hit a slasher in the process.

“How-“

The third member of their party, extended a hand.

“I think I can explain that”.

Oh heck.

“-You were here last night, yeah?”

Just... _heck._

(I wordlessly nodded......)

“-Don’t tell me that’s the same girl who blew up the fire alarm!?” the other guy realized-

“I’m afraid so”, the blonde girl said.

“Hey!! We had to wait an _hour_ out there for that-!!!”

I cringed internally.

“Sorry. . . .”

“You can’t _entirely_ blame her”, the third member of their party chided, “She was punch-drunk.

Literally”.

_-Oops._

_My mom is going to **love** that-_

At least I’d been 20?

“-Yeah, why _do_ they put Absinthe in it?” the girl wondered.

“Hmph”.

The boy folded his arms, and glared.

I tried not to wither away-

“Don’t mind him”.

He towered over me.

_And_ he had that ‘don’t-mess-with-me’ presence.

I couldn’t tell if I was supposed to be in awe, or intimidated.

“Um-uh...”

I nervously clicked my fingernails-

“Who are...you-?”

“Me?”

He smiled.

“I’m Envy Flora”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Interesting questions to be asked here. . . . . . .


	4. Chapter 3: Korokuma, Day Of Birth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new creature is about to be introduced to Planet Earth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Mentions of food, eating. Implied melting.

_Powering on . . ._

My world was no longer empty.

“...?”

Pink eyes.

_Hinasaki, Kokoro._

_Age: 5._

_Country of Birth: Osaka, Japan._

_Parents:_

How do I know this?

-Data.

School records.

I see.

“Korokuma?”

“Hello, Miss”.

My joints whirred as I sat up.

“Where are we?”

“It’s a Magic House”.

“Hmm...”

_9573945729475294357294568... Results for ‘Magic House’-_

“I cannot find any information”.

I try to stand up.

I am-wobbling-!!

Child’s hands steady me.

“You’re doing very good”.

“Thank you, Miss”.

My head swivels on my neck brace.

“I can tell...something-“

“Power”.

Miss follows my look.

“It’s spelled and things”.

“-That makes sense”.

It computes.

“Mommy’s gonna make cookies”.

“Will that go well with my circuitry?”

“I think so”.

She stands, herself.

She is holding my paw.

“Where is ‘Mommy’?”

_ERROR._

“She is writing important--stuff”.

“I see”.

It is a quiet walk. . .

Everything is so much bigger than me.

I wonder-

How?

“How long did it take you to make me, Miss?”

“It took me three months”.

“You are quite young”.

“Daddy’s an ex-pert.

I know a lot...fast”.

“Fast?”

“I can remember what I like”.

-That makes sense.

(It computes).

We enter a big hallway.

A team of people with magic streams are repairing a Giant.

“Hi Mabel. . .”

_Mabel._

_A Remote AI with access to every System the Academy has to offer-_

“Mabel...has had an accident?”

“I don’t know”.

We leave the clatter behind.

Sunshine pours in.

_Electromagnetic radiation from the sun scatters dust spores, and-_

The information just-

Comes.

I blink, and my lenses whir-

“Mommy!”

Oh we’re running-

“Hi Mommy-!”

Through a door.

“-Huh? Kokoro?”

-The eyes are from her.

_Genetic traits passed down from one generation to the next-_

“Who’s this?”

“-I am Korokuma, Miss’s Ma’am”.

“Pleasure to meet you”.

“Can we have cookies please?”

“Of course, Pumpkin”.

“Where?”

_Oval-shaped, orange plants, often grown in-_

“That’s my nickname”.

She was smiling.

“I’m a Big Pumpkin”.

“Yes, you are”.

-A tray was set down.

My olfactory sensors registered the scent of freshly-made dessert-

“Thank you!”

She crawled onto a stool.

“Yummy!”

......It is....not clear to me, what to do-

I was preferring the readouts in my mainframe, however.

“Want some?”

She was offering.

One in each hand, one with a bite in it, one without.

“-Yes, I would like some”.

I inventory its pieces:

_99 % cookie dough_

_10% chocolate chips_

_100% scan complete._

I tasted it.

Hmmm......

Crunchy.

Sweet-

I swallowed.

-My sensors crashed.

.

.

.

.

.

“-? Did something happen-“

“You can eat. But the sugar is full of energy-burns out fast. . .”

She held me up.

“I didn’t think it was gonna do it....”

“Sometimes, we run into things we don’t expect”.

Her mother ruffled her hair.

“Yeah....”

She frowned.

“But what about smaller chocolate-“

“That might work”.

She went to go get something out of my view.

I heard the crackling of a bag-

There were still stray 1’s and 0’s in my field of vision.

They should fade, soon-

“Here”.

She shook some tiny chocolate chips into her hand.

“How about this?”

“Thank you”.

I scooped a few into my mouth.

Hmm...

Crisper.

But with not as much intensity in flavor.

I only saw slight fuzz.

“This works”.

“That’s a relief”.

“Yes”.

There was an...a ‘vibe’ in the air.

It ‘relaxed’.

“Do you like him, mommy?”

“He’s very polite”.

She pat me on my metal head.

“Just wait until your father gets word”.

-He swept in, later that day.

His hair was black, like hers.

“Hi Daddy”.

“Hi Koko”.

He sat down, and she hoisted herself into his lap.

“Look!”

“Is that a-“

“He’s Korokuma...”

“Oh my”.

“I made him all by myself”.

“Amazing...”

He groped around for glasses, then perched them on the bridge of his nose.

The lens gave his irises a watery effect.

“This is high-tech-“

“Mm-hm”.

She played with her fingers.

“The scrap...yard has lots of stuff-“

“I can’t believe they just left it lying around!”

“It’s not wasted anymore”.

“Am I doing them justice?” I wanted to know-

“-I should say so!”

A glimmer of-I must consult my databanks.

“We have a real prodigy on our hands”.

Her mother added.

“What’s a prodigy?”

“It means you have talent”.

“What’s talent-“

“You’re really good at making robot bears”.

“-Yeah”.

She reached for another cookie.

“-Don’t eat too many, you’ll have a sugar rush”.

“What’s a sugar rush-“

“You’ll be zooming around like the Flash before we know it”.

“...Who’s that?”

“He’s a superhero”, her father explained.

“Huh?”

Twenty minutes went by before she finished chewing.

“Huh-“

“It’s a long, comic book story”.

“Okay”.

_-I don’t know what that is, either..._

_Searching..._

_Searching....._

_Superman_

_Batman_

_Wonder Woman_

_Hawk Girl_

-Humans with traits that go beyond an individual’s usual strength or endurance.

The Flash can leave ordinary vehicles behind.

I filed the information away...

“-Oh yeah, did you hear about what happened to Mabel today?”

“Poor soul, what odd spell ran into her this time?”

“Try being...turned into a birthday candle”.

“That sounds uncomfortable”, Miss commented, unaware of the last-second swap-

Or was she?

I ran a scan, but her expression could not be read.

“Oh dear”.

“It’s not anybody’s birthday”.

“That’s unfortunate-“

“Apparently, the strange man who lives upstairs is trying to convince the Headmistress to take her on”.

“Really?”

_‘Grown-up talk’._

Miss paid it no mind-

“Yup...though, I’m not sure how safe it will be...”

“Well no kidding”.

Miss reached for a third cookie.

“-Careful Pumpkin”, her mother interrupted herself.

She moved the tray.

“. . .”

Miss stared at the empty space for 1:08:002.

“-Anyway, I’m just hoping we don’t have _more_ fire drills because someone thinks it’s funny”.

She huffed a puff of breath.

“They should have more sense than that”, he said.

“You never can tell sometimes. . . . . . .”

I watched Miss shift around until she was looking over his shoulder.

“A real shame”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cute bear!


	5. Chapter 4: Korokuma & Lynn, The Beacon Of Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who is the new person, and how is Mabel?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Brief mention of injury, implied burning.

The conversation seemed to have passed.

Both adults lapsed into silence. . . .

-Someone knocked.

“Hello?”

I turned around-

She was very tall.

Reddish-brown hair in a ponytail, and pink eyes.

They never changed the direction of their gaze, even when she was invited in.

“Hi there, Miss-?”

“Lynn Goldman, Ma’am!!”

-Her energy readings were off the charts.

-She stuck out a hand.

The two women shook.

“I’m here to fix Mabel!”

“-You are?”

She blinked.

“That was fast-“

“My place of work is very reliable!”

-Everything she said had an exclamation point tacked onto the end.

“That’s nice to hear”.

Miss’ father smiled.

“-But Mabel isn’t in the office?”

“-I have a waiver-“

“A waiver?”

“In case of violent injury, or-“

“-Let me get my pen”.

She disappeared from sight, opening drawers.

“Thank you!”

Her lab coat fluttered.

It reminded me of a butterfly’s wings.

It was never still.

My motion sensors could not track with accuracy.

She looked around-

Something about her was....interesting.

“-Found it”.

Miss’ mother came back.

“Phew. . .!”

“Okay!”

-She withdrew a long paper from the inner pocket.

The mother signed it-

“I really appreciate this”.

“Same, Ms. Goldman-“

“Oh you can just call me Lynn”.

“Well, Ms. Lynn, if you can fix her, that’d be greatly appreciated”.

“I will do my best!”

“-That’s my cue....”

Miss’ father stood up.

Miss perched on the chair arm.

“I can take you over to her Mainframe if you want”.

“Sure!”

She stepped back.

-I moved out of the way, but not quite fast enough.

“-Huh?”

It had just been a light clunk-

“-Hello. . .”

“Oh hi, Sir!”

_-I am merely a bear._

“Korokuma...”

Miss hopped down, and knelt to look at my paw.

“-Are they alright?”

Ms. Goldman leaned over-

“Yes”, Miss answered.

“Phew. . .”

She grinned.

I was blinded.

“I’m glad”.

. . .

_Huh._

She reached out a hand.

“May I-?”

“Ask him”, Miss replied.

“Ah-sorry...”

A wistful upturn of her lips.

“Korokuma, do you mind if I-?”

“I do not”.

Her hand on my head was quite warm.

She scratched my ear.

I had a-strange feeling--

She straightened up.

-It’d gotten...cold, all of a sudden.

“Thank you...”

“-No, thank you”.

Miss looked at me.

“Good luck on fixing Mabel”.

“Should be just a routine thing.....”

She twirled a strand of her hair.

-A string of notes, harmonic in nature.

_Cell-phone._

“-Oops, let me take this-“

“No worries”, Miss’ mother reassured.

She left into the hallway.

My Ultra-Sensitive eardrums picked up on:

“-Hi Riku!

I’m at work-“

_Riku?_

“Aw, that’s sweet...”

_-Are they a friend?_

“Can’t wait to see you later...I’ve got a job right now. . . .”

_Hmm._

I might have been only an hour or so old, but my mind was nineteen years older.

I could feel it in my Settings.

I wonder why that just occurred to me?

“Okay, bye!”

-She signed off.

Put the phone aside.

“-Sorry about that...”

“It’s nice to have friends”, the father told her diplomatically.

“Uh-huh”.

“Have fun!” Miss’ mom called as they left.

“-We’ll try to”, he echoed back.

And then it was us three.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“Korokuma?”

Miss asked.

“Yes?”

“.........”

I waited for a reply.

“She’s a pretty lady”.

-I wasn’t quite sure what that meant.

_What is she trying to say?_

“Oh boy. . .”

I’d done a cursory sweep of the edges, and, big oof.

“This is gonna take awhile”.

“-That bad?”

“Yup. . .”

It was actually _worse-_

“Did you run into the Human Blowtorch?”

“. . . . Mabel, might have.....”

Double big oof.

“Those grafts are gonna need a scraping”.

“Right, right.....”

“I can give you an estimate, if you want-“

“If you’d be so kind-“

I did the math in my head.

“Full repairs, and re-circuit testing add up to.......1,345 Star Dollars”.

“-I don’t know about that one......”

“I know money’s tight. . . .”

“Is staggering it an option?”

“I can send in a citation-“

“You’re a lifesaver”.

“It’s nothing...”

_Poor woman._

_They should’ve made her fire-proof._

Oh well.

Can’t change the past......

I pulled a clipboard from my other pocket, a pen from _another_ pocket, and started scribbling.

“There you go”.

“Thank you, Ms. Goldman”.

-I could picture him mentally wincing.

“-I’ll be here again, same time”.

“So will I”.

As I was leaving, I had the opportunity to look in on them.

I waved-

“Bye, bye........”

The child was speaking.

“Goodbye”.

And now the bear.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

His voice was _super-_ deep.

Hehe, it was kind-of funny......

-Ooh, I’m gonna be late for the bus-!!!

I was not expecting her to show up another moment.

She’d popped in, looking ethereal, and then she’d seemed to realize something quickly, and run away.

-Her warmth left a gulf in its absence.

Like before.

I wonder why that is.

Miss’ father returned some more moments later. . . . .

“1,345 Star Dollars-“

“Oh my goodness!!”

“I know.......”

Was that much?

He had hunched shoulders, and he did not have them before he had taken her to Mabel.

“Daddy? Is that hard?”

“-It might be. . . . .”

He sank into a different chair.

“1,345. . . . . . . .”

-A painful instance, then.

“She’s submitting a citation”.

“-To lower the price?” Miss’ mom guessed.

“One can only dream-“

“Moneys?”

“Moneys make the world go ‘round. . . . “

Miss nodded.

“She tells me she’ll be back tomorrow, same time”.

-Did she?

-I briefly register a spike in my heartbeat levels.

. . .?

“She seems like a lovely person”, Miss’ mom mused.

“I agree-“

_Me too._

-Is that why. . .?

_Do I want her to be back tomorrow-_

The answer was already surfacing in my mind.

_Yes._

Yes, I did.

_But Riku._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is very cute.


	6. Chapter 5: Anubis & Korokuma: The Other God

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's the price for portal magic? And why?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Burns, blood, mention sacrifices, self-harm, loud yelling, actual sacrifices.

-The spell backfired on me _again._

“Darn it-!!”

The burns on my arms were becoming more raw with each attempt.

_What am I missing?_

I’d written the required sigils on the pillars.

I’d spilled enough blood to fill a small basket.

-Stopping shy of _human sacrifice_ I had done everything right.

The invocations were seared into my mind, how could it be-

I sighed.

Waved my hand at the mess-

Golden light swept the sand and the water crystals back into place.

-Maybe I _would_ have to cross that line.

I massaged my temple.

How hypocritical-

-I heard a rattling.

-Oh dear.

-Why was that my initial reaction?

I didn’t know.

I had accidentally gotten myself lost from Miss and her family-

They had walked home for the night.

This portion of the school had been sectioned off-

I was short enough to fit underneath the glowing wards.

-I did not expect to see a faintly-silhouetted figure with piercing, violet eyes.

“-I am sorry to disturb you-“

I wheeled around.

“Wait”.

In the silence, a loud boom.

I found myself being pulled backwards. . . .

“-A talking bear?”

“A mage?”

_-He doesn’t_ look _he’s cosplaying DND..._

A thousand articles were highlighted in my Search Engines.

“-I haven’t heard that term in a _long,_ time”.

-After spending millennia with an alligator-lion hybrid for a pet, I shouldn’t have been surprised.

“You aren’t a mage?”

“No”.

I spun my hand, re-illuminating the sigils.

“I’m a God”.

“What-“

The bear’s red lens flickered.

“This area was supposed to be deserted”.

“-Then those cordons-“

“Yes, they were mine.....”

“Why put them here? That is awfully strange-“

“People and bears aren’t supposed to wander in”.

I sighed.

“You’re the first to come here in years. . . .

I chose it carefully-“

“What for?”

“-You aren’t afraid of my answer?”

_I don’t understand._

I have yet to experience fear.

“No?”

“-I see”.

A faint smile...

“You must have just been born”.

_-He could tell that?_

“Yes?”

“-That would explain it”.

He turned back to the set-up.

A . . .ritual?

“What are you doing?”

“You want to know?”

“. . . .I do not know”.

I turned around again.

I could not. . .move my feet-

“I can leave.....I will not speak-“

“Actions show the truth”.

He raised his hands.

I noticed the hideous wounds-

_-Wait, some of those aren’t just-_

He started to chant something.

_Egyptian,_ my database supplied-

A set of seven crystals, shone...

They floated into the air.

He sliced both arms twice with what must have been an invisible blade, and a reddish liquid poured into the sand-and-salt-encrusted space.

-I winced, but I was no stranger to pain by now.

I invoked _their_ name-

The purple flames in the gallery flared.

Water poured from underneath sealed doorways.

-A good sign...

_“I call upon you to OPEN-!!”_

A _bang._

Once again, the crystals cracked.

And I was once again lightheaded with the burning. . .

_What on earth do I have to **do!?**_

I hissed as I flexed my fingers-

“. . .Do you need help?”

The metallic-sounding voice from behind me.

“........”

-I hated to think of it.

But. . .  
“Maybe I do”.

“What-“

“Come here”.

I bent a finger, and my magic brought them swiftly forward.

“It has occurred to me”, I began, “That what the ritual needs, is new blood”.

“I do not know if I have blood-“

“Only one way to find out”.

I waved my hand for the _tenth_ time-

The crystals flew into their places.

-I noticed my muscles trembling.

I darted a quick glance at the bear.

_Did they see?_

_-I have no idea what is going on._

But he did not seem like he would reliably not hurt me.

Especially with a response like that.

“May I ask what it’s for?”

He never did mention-

“.....I need to briefly meet with someone”.

He must dislike them.

That was a pause.

“About what?”

“-Important things”.

_-Seems legit, but still-_

He began to chant another round, but it was cut by coughing.

Dark circles were shaded under his eyes.

“.....I can help-“

“So you’ve said”.

You’d think he would be wheezing.

“I mean it, though-“

_Do you?_

It was difficult to believe that someone would _want_ to be involved in contacting a convicted criminal.

The bear hadn’t a clue.

“You seem quite tired”.

_-Don’t do that._

The recoiling reaction caught me off-guard.

“-Nonsense”.

I made a few more finger movements, then brought the bear front-and-center.

“This last go should work”.

“-Good luck”.

I tried to ignore the cordiality, and started the chant an eleventh time.

-My arms stung.

Blood poured-

I switched up the procedure.

I moved the appeasing spell over the arms of the bear.

-His red lens lit.

Bright.

_-I hope you don’t intend to renege._

_Freezing_ through my circuits.

-I wasn’t expecting _that._

Clear fluid dripped to the floor.

ERROR, my Processors informed me-

_Unknown Magical Presence detected._

It wasn’t unknown, it was in front of myself.

-He shouted something.

As I worked to reset all psychological components-

-I could not-adequately describe the sensation running through me.

Radiating from my paws...

There was a blue blast from behind.

I shivered at the spray-

Water.

_My circuits!?_

Could they stand it?

I sneezed at the cold.

_Heat Regulation, Stabilizing. .. ..._

Soon.

I needed-to look-

_-Is that-a-?_

Portal?

_Chances of that are .0001%-_

_It worked._

Finally. . .

I swallowed.

_It **did** need a sacrifice._

And the meeting to come would _not_ be pleasant.......

I took a breath to calm myself.

...

I took another one.

“Thank you for your service”.

-I released him as the Divine Energy washed in around me.

Around us. . .

-Well, I couldn’t be certain it _would_ affect him.

Being made of non-organic material...

“Don’t tell anyone what happened here”.

“I will not-“

He swayed on his bear legs.

“I am-tired--”

_How ironic._

-He plunked flat on his face.

I blinked.

_-Okay then._

I conjured a light protective ward around the construct, and then I whirled to face my Enemy.

And my Mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's heavy, and the next one is heavier.


	7. Chapter 6: Anubis, - Nephthys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finding answers is a lot more painful than it looks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Mention sex under false pretenses. Implied phys. abuse. Implied burning.
> 
> This is the heavy one.
> 
> Bolded start, and bolded end, can skip.

Water lapped at my feet.

A misty beach.

That _would_ be her style.....

“Nephthys?”

As far as I _know_ she has not yet escaped-

“-I have a...question, for you”.

The thick smell of the sea made me sick.

_You have to be in here._

“It’s about the fate of the universe”.

_The most cliché hook in existence._

“Hello?”

I ducked under the rocks.

“Anyone here?”

I could barely see out into the horizon.

I scuffed my sandals in the sand...

**“...You’re not dead”.**

“You didn’t expect me to be, did you”.

I looked up.

A woman rising from the water.

“You wouldn’t have called out for me-“

“-You always were resilient”.

Ocean-blue, from head-to-toe.

No, she hadn’t changed one bit.

“You still despise me”.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

I kept my tone even.

“You disguised yourself as his wife, and he never once found out.

Until I was born, and I had his eyes-“

I smiled thinly.

“Your husband may have left scars on me, but you’re just as bad as him”.

“. . .You’ll never forgive me”.

I scoffed.

“No”.

“Anubis...”

She floated nearer.

“It _has_ been a long time. .... .........”

“I won’t be here for hours”.

Her hand reached out for me.

I moved away.

“I don’t need your love”.

I was cold-

“I do, need answers”.

“Your question-“

“Yes”.

....Her expression was unreadable.

“What is it?”

“Is it true that the Balance of the Worlds has been disturbed?”

“. . .It is”.

I mulled this over. . . .

“Do you know who it is”.

“I do not”.

_At least my beliefs were confirmed._

I could leave.

“Anubis-“

“I’m not staying”.

“But your arms-“

I folded them.

“What happened to them has nothing to do with you”.

I would have to re-open the portal-

“At least let me see-“

I walked away, so the waves would drown her out.

**The pock-marks in the sand were the only indication of where I had come.**

I swept it into a circle, unfazed by the rush of aqua energy.

I couldn’t wait to be back in that school.

I knew the disturbance had to be there-

I slipped inside.

And closed it.

I tightly clenched my jaw.

-Conversations with Osiris and Isis were less...emotionally taxing by comparison.

I hadn’t seen her in a while either, but he had....always been kind-

_I wonder why._

“-I hope it went well...”

-The bear.

I removed the ward-

“As well as could be expected”.

I began to heal myself with my magic.

Him, too.

I wasn’t sure it would stick on a mechanical creature, however-

My luck seemed to run pretty good so far.

“I thank you for your service-“

_-Was it coerced?_

I grimaced at the notion, but it’d be troublesome if I let it show.

“You’re welcome”.

The bear dusted himself off.

“-I am very lost. My maps do not like this area, they are quite scrambled”.

“That will be the ancient forces in the air”.

“I will go try elsewhere”.

“Seems like a plan. . . .”

His footsteps were dull, but they were steadily decreasing in sound.

...

So I was alone.

_Would have been nice to get more information-_

I wasn’t about to go back.

_I should clean this up-_

Would I be able to be fined for this?

. . . . . . .

Did I ever mention how much I hate it that my eyes glow in the dark?

It’s just another reminder I can’t leave behind.

I shook my head-

No time for that, now, I have to find them.

Whomever they are...

I don’t believe it’s the Apocalypse Maker, or everything would be disintegrating to death as I’m thinking it.

But the unknown of it.....

That was making me uneasy.

I slipped into the shadows as I left.

Chatter.

Students returning from late-night jaunts, no doubt.

It _was_ college-like after all.....

As long as they didn’t see me, I didn’t care.

My next step was to isolate the source of the disturbance.

I wasn’t entirely sure how I would do this, but I had learned from experience on gathering souls that people talked if they thought there was no one consequential around to hear.

All I had to do was simply hang around, and listen.

_-Who is ‘Mabel’?_

Her unhappy fate was on everyone’s lips.

_‘Burned into ash’ is a nasty way to die._

A way to get near it.

I would have met her by now if she had truly passed on.

_And where is she?_

Attended to by doctors?

I kept an eye out...

I didn’t see anyone or anything particularly of note.

_Perhaps another sweep in the morning._

Ra will have made it harder for dark forces to interfere then.

I stepped into the garden.

A light wind rustled the hedges.

I could faintly smell smoke?

_It’s coming from there-_

A glassed-in window halfway sunk into the earth.

A basement.

I snapped my fingers and the latch was undone.

. . . . . Nothing special.

An underground keeping area for machines.

I followed the tread of the catwalk.

Mostly broken cameras, and dead street lamps.

Rather ornate in fashion-

What-

Is that?

...

-It appeared I _could_ still be surprised after thousands of years of life.

_Mabel is a giant robot._

The complexity of man-made animation was slightly beyond me, I had to admit.

I leaned over the head of the figure, the empty gaze.

I pulled a spark of magic from a melted joint-

_This is-_

Dream and fire combined.

_Who uses that combination-_

Not a God or Goddess I knew, could.

Except maybe Khonshu...

Well at least I had a small sparkling to jump off of.

Metaphorically-

The metal racket of a door.

-I would leave in a second.

I checked for a Memory Box-

“What do you think you’re doing?”

-Faster than I’d thought.

I turned.

“Good evening”.

A tall man in black with warning green eyes, and a young woman with flaming, blue hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More confrontation.


	8. Chapter 7: Anubis & Envy, Past Scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things never really stay buried. But, things also change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Bomb mention. Mentions of crazy, phys./emotional flashback/abuse. Blood mention.
> 
> Bold start and end of warnings.

“I was stopping by”.

_I think I know who this belongs to._

“I had heard there was an accident. . . .”

-She cringed, slightly.

“Rumors are just rumors”, he said.

“That’s true”.

I glanced down at the felled robot.

“Must have been an internal meltdown”.

I watched their expressions.

His didn’t change from suspicion.

Hers, seemed to relax.

“Have a nice night”.

I walked past them, and outside.

It had cooled considerably-

I did miss the heat of home...

_Just wait, for a little while._

One never knew how these things would unfold.

She knew me.

Back then, in that hallway.

I saw it when her eyes widened.

“Envy?”

“Yes...”

I’d beckoned her forward.

“You have nothing to fear-but you’ll be less likely to be charged if you join this place”.

“Huh-“

“-Hey, what are you doing!?”

One of the other kids.

That annoying guy-

“The Headmistress isn’t gonna want a human _bomb-“_

“I wouldn’t call her that if I were you”, the girl had dryly interrupted.

“What the heck else am I supposed to call her-“

“Pay him no mind”.

I shook it off.

“He gives everyone a hard time”.

I was keeping on eye on the school from the sidelines.

The moon still balanced high in the air-

I heard a crash.

“Darned raccoon-!!”

The janitor ran by, chasing out a black-and-white-striped thief.

“And don’t you _dare_ come back!!”

Rustling.

“Son of a-razzin’-frazzin’-“

_-People actually utter these odd words._

I smiled to myself.

_How zany-_

I happened to look down.

Leaves and dust, kicked up by the sudden rush.

I brushed them onto the ground.

“Hey!!”

-The tone gave me pause.

No one should have been able to see me-

“What did I tell you about getting my clothes dirty!?”

“Sorry-“

It was a man.

And a boy.

I had knocked once.

Twice-

_“Come in”._

I gently pushed open the door.

“Excuse me-“

The Headmistress raised her no-nonsense gaze from her desk.

“You have something to tell me?”

“. . .”

_........Okay, let’s **not** lose courage now-_

“. . .It’s me-“

“The Boarder”.

Her lips were a thin line.

“Yup”.

-My voice squeaked.

_Darn it-  
_ “-I found someone you might be interested in-“

“Did you?”

-As uninterested as a person could sound.

“Yes-“

I nodded to Alice.

_It’s okay. You can come in-_

She swallowed....then did so.

**“The lady’s insane....”**

He continued to mutter-

“You barely made it in as is, and now she wants a Walking Firecracker!?”

“Pretty-pretty crazy-“

His son had a frozen smile.

-I still felt bad about the flying leaves-

“’Crazy’, is an operative term”.

The man stomped to his car.

“Come on-we’re leaving”.

“What?”

“You heard me-c’mon!”

He gripped the boy’s arm hard enough to draw blood.

I...my head-

_Come on!_

_Ow-_

_Well if you were faster, this wouldn’t have happened!_

_Owowow_ let go-!!

_Don’t be such a crybaby. Unbelievable. I, the God of the Desert with a son like **you.**_

_“You’re_ the one who made Mabel in need of repair?”

-She nodded...

The woman turned her stern gaze on _me._

“-You want me to enroll her”.

“I think it’d be safer that way-“

“Safer for whom?”

-An eyebrow raise...

“We can’t have you burning the _entire school_ into the ground, no offense dear.....”

“None taken...”

-She was picking anxiously at her nails.

“-And that outfit violates the dress code”.

“-I don’t know where it came from-“

“It doesn’t exactly show anything”, I defended.

“Besides bare shoulders”.

That frank tone-

“Are you suggesting someone’s gonna try-“

“If I were you, I would lower your voice. You are a _Guest”._

. . . . .I took a few moments to recompose myself.

“Yes...well, it’d look bad if you kicked her out on the street, right?”

_Let’s try this._

“She _just_ got here”.

The claw marks, the scratches...

He could never hurt her.

But he was _always_ rough with me.

I never did anything right-

I could never be _another him-_

_It hurts,_ stop it!!”

-Someone ran away.

I couldn’t-couldn’t stop staring-

_M-my arms-!!_

Why wouldn’t-why wouldn’t they heal--

-Huh.

Some...

Someone....

Say something?

. . . okay. . . .

“Are you okay!?”

“From where?”

Alice swallowed again-  
“I-I came through a mirror-“

“A mirror?”

-I couldn’t tell whether she believed it or not.

“A real mirror?”

“Yes. . .”

“That’s unheard of!”

“Uh-“

“-I’ll take responsibility for her”, I offered.

“I’ll make sure the fire doesn’t eat up anything else-“

“Hmm? Will you?”

_Maybe-_

“Yes-Yes! I will-“

_We_ can _get to a resolution?_

“You swear?”

“I do. . .I swear-“

-She extended her hand.

I shook it-

I yelped at the sudden shock-!!  
The palm of my hand glowed, as a red rune drew itself through my glove. . .

“What does that do?” Alice asked.

“If he breaks his promise, he will lose all his magic”.

“Are you okay?”

I couldn’t-focus-

........Green power flowed up my skin.

_-Poor boy._

_Who did this to you?_

No-this isn’t the past-!!

I forced myself to look up.

It was-

I closed my eyes.

The red flecks-

_It’s not him._

_It’s not him-_

I tried to bring in deep breaths. . .

“That guy ran off-“

“I-“

I opened them not fully, but just enough-

I-

Needed to see.

A tall, figure in black-violet-

“. . .Huh?”

They seemed...familiar. . . . .  
  


“Are you sure you’ll be okay without your magic?”

“I...might be _severely_ weakened, but...all seals can be broken. . . .”

I tried to smile.

“It’s nothing to worry about”.

She nodded.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**A hint of a shadow from the corner of my eye-**

And so we met.

And as we left, we heard the shouting-

Good on him, for breaking free!

I shifted into my real form-

A Dark Plant.

It was _laughably_ easy to scare him away.

He took one glimpse, gasped like a fish, _fell over_ onto the ground, and then crawled into his car and drove away.

_Good riddance._

“Um!? Envy-“

I turned, and saw the man as deathly-pale as a sheet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly less heavy, but still heavy.


	9. Chapter 8: Morgan, Lost Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's this? A real invitation-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Homelessness/hunger. Prejudice. Brief mention of police.

_It’s another cold one. . ._

I shivered, rubbed my arms with freezing hands.

I hadn’t eaten in a couple weeks.

I could only hope it didn’t interfere with my sleep-

Providing I _could_ find somewhere to sleep-

I was walking because I couldn’t not stop.

Hope the landlord’s taking care of the Snake family at least. . . . . . . .

He wouldn’t-he wouldn’t get rid of them the minute he locked me out...right?

Right?

...

I worry about them too much.

-Tomorrow I’ll have to look again for a job.

_No one seems to want a hat, these days._

Or to even let me in the front door.

I think rumors, have been circling.

About what, I cannot say-

Do they think I’m a Communist because of the red streaks, or what?

I know I get weird looks all the time. . .

_-I can see my breath._

Not good...

“Excuse me, Sir...”

“-?”

_-I don’t know you..._

The driver has an invitation in hand.

“Your presence has been requested”.

“By whom?”

-I couldn’t find a return address.....

“-This has to be a mistake...”

-No sign nor tail of the sender.

“A _big_ mistake”.

Who in town would invite _me?_

“No mistake”.

“. . . .?”

I couldn’t believe it.

....A smile-

“Well. . . . if they insist-“

I followed them into the car.

_Maybe I finally have a way out of this mess._

Actual heat-

I felt like I had _just_ seen a unicorn.

“Thank you-“

“No need to thank me, Sir-“

“O...kay”.

I leaned back.

The seat was soft-

-It occurred to me that I might be stuck in here with an axe murderer.

_I don’t really have any other choice, though...._

How sad was that?

_If it backfires on me..._

I bit my lip.

_-I guess it backfires._

......How did they know my name?

_Morgan Gray...._

Poetic-sounding.

-Also half of everyone I met assumed I was a girl immediately.

_Sigh._

Narrow minds do be in style, unfortunately....

I straightened my top hat.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see”.

_. . . I’ve always been partial to a surprise...._

We pulled up to a gate.

Art-nouveau.

Nice.

_Any rocks?_

I could use them as defense, if I needed-

I craned my neck to see.

The driver got out.

Opened my door-

“Thank you-“

He merely nodded.

But that was fine with me. . .

?

The house...

Looked abandoned.

“-Is this it?”

I tried to keep calm-

“Hmm. . . . .”

He fished around in his chauffeur’s jacket for a couple minutes, then withdrew a phone.

He walked around the side of the iron-

I swallowed.

_-Maybe they’re just hiding._

One. . .could always hope, right?

Right?

...................................................................................................................

He came back.

“What-what did they say?”

My voice wavered a little-

“Life gets busy”.

He shrugged.

“The party’s been canceled.

The Hostess sends her regrets-“

-My ribs hurt.

_Don’t hurt-_

“I send mine”.

I waved if off.

“It’s alright...thank you for taking me so far”.

I gulped.

_Please tell me he didn’t notice that._

Now...

I was left with a dilemma.

_Do I ask him for a ride...or-?_

I wanted to-to-

Cry.

No-

I cracked a smile, anyway.

_Don’t cry-_

I inspected the fence.

_-Can I climb..._

_Well, I **could** pick it-_

But. . .

He was staring at me-

“-You want a ride back to town?”

_I don’t want to be arrested, please-_

“Sure”.

We rode in silence.

He wasn’t much of a big talker anyway, and I...didn’t know what to say.

The car tires crunched over leaves...or was that snow?

The door’s lock disengaged-

I bid him farewell.

Annnd what do I do?

-I _wanted_ to ask if I could stay at his place, but I-stranger, you know.....?

I couldn’t make myself do it, was the bottom line-

He drove away.

I felt the _woosh_ of the wind.....

I looked around.

A few people were staring curiously, _including_ a guy in a police suit.

-I wasn’t sure what would happen, and I didn’t _really_ want to find out........

I’ve heard the horror stories, who hasn’t?

I started to walk.

Any direction.

I just-

I coughed into my arm to avoid a sob.

Oh...crap.

I ducked into an alley-

-Why do I end up in the situations where I could easily run into sick people?

_Question for another day._

I fanned my cheeks-

Hot-tears-

I didn’t mean to break down-

_If someone would just give me a chance-_

I can’t understand what worth there is in _hating_ someone.

It was a while before I could fully calm myself.

By then, I felt _immensely_ exhausted-

_How late is it?_

I’d lost track of the hour.

I wiped my eyes.

It was shaping up to be a night of no sleep.

Oh well. . .

Not much I could do about that...

I sniffed.

Crisp.

I nearly hacked on the tang.

_Ouch. . . ._

I peered from the alley mouth.

No one there. . . . . . . .

I felt a lump in my throat at the sight, or should I put it as...lack there-of-

I was going to cry again, at this rate....

“No, no-!”

I patted myself roughly on the face.

“No more of that”.

 _You_ need _to sleep._

But the ‘where’ was the hard part.

I re-entered the street...

Look both ways before crossing. . . . .

-I narrowly avoided the car.

_Who’s at the wheel-_

It stopped in a parking lot with a squeal, and the Driver’s-Side door exploded open wide.

_-What is-_

A bloodshot-eyed man sprang outside, striding purposefully in my direction-

We unintentionally knocked elbows.

-He spun me around.

Grasped my shoulders so hard that I _winced-_

“Can you maybe not-“

“There’s a Monster at the school! Spread the word-“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What monster?


	10. Chapter 9: Alice & Angelica, An Unexpected Intrusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A figure from legend appears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Talk of the Apocalypse.

I wasn’t sure what had just happened...

But the person. . .

That _was_ Envy...

Wasn’t it?

-He’d calmed the man down...

“. . . .You’re here as well”.

He sounded like he’d run a marathon.

He hadn’t moved anywhere at all.

“Now I understand why that kid was such a pain”, Envy muttered...

“Are you alright?” he said louder.

“. . . . . . I have to go”.

A flicker of gold, and then he was-

He was gone!?

“Where did he go!??”

“I don’t know-“

Envy felt around-

“.............”

“.....Is he gonna be okay?”

“I hope so......”

Envy sighed.

“-But we can only help if he lets us”.

“. . . . . . . .”

He was right...but......

“What-what do you think-“

“PTSD?”

He shrugged.

“I’m-not certain-“

“That guy was scary”.

I shuddered-

“Yeah”.

Envy’s green eyes flashed with red.

“Maybe he’ll think twice before he comes back here again!”

“Yeah...”

_-He could have seriously . . hurt someone._

_Seriously._

-I brushed a stray, blue curl out of my face.

“So...where’s the other Guest Room?”

“It’s right next to mine”.

He visibly relaxed.

The violet fading back into black....

His irises became clearer.

I could feel myself relaxing, also.

The quiet, did that, to me....

It left me with a peculiar sensation not unlike that of having been inside a _harrowing_ dream.

_Happens a lot more often than I would like, lately-_

“I can show you where it is-“  
“Thank you, that’d be great”.

-Hear me out....

I’ve had a bad habit of liking the ones who are kind-of mysterious in the past.

Nobody’s like that in my life.

And that was usually just fine with me.

-And then _this guy_ appears.

I was actually _extremely_ scared to talk to him.

Yet here I was. . . .

Trailing after him as he made a _door_ in thin air, and we stepped through into a hallway-

The plush, red carpet under my bare toes just served to throw me off further.

“You okay?”

“Yeah-“

I grasped the edge of a decorative table.

“I’m good-“  
 _I’m not good._

_I should pinch myself-_

Did anyone know or think that I was missing?

I swallowed.

Smiled-

He knocked on No. 308.

“......”

-When no one answered, he turned to me.

“The cleaning person must have left, which means.....”

I held up my new key.

“This room is mine?”

At his nod, I gulped.

“Okay. . .”

I fit the tines into the lock, and twisted.

-I had to do it a couple of times, for some reason it kept _sticking..._

I nearly fell in.

“Woah-!!”

An arm caught me before I could _spectacularly_ face-plant onto the floor.

“That was close”.

“Yeah”.

I steadied myself, then walked the rest of the way in.

“Wow. . .”

It was beautiful.

It had big windows with curtains.

And best of all-

I scurried over to check--

_The bathroom is clean!!_

_YESSSSS-_

No disgusting hairs in the drain for me-

I realized he was watching.

I walked out as non-hyped over that as possible-

I saw him hide a smile.

“I’m glad you like it”.

“-I’ll certainly be able to sleep here”.

“Alright.....”

He backed outside.

“I’ll...see you in the morning, then”.

“Yeah-?”

-It was more like a question than a real reply-

“We have a lot to talk about”.

I shut the door.

-I pushed in to lock it on instinct.

. . .

_That really happened._

I was _finally_ able to pinch myself.

“Ow-!”

_Yeah, I’m not dreaming-_

I didn’t know what to do.

On the one level, this was _amazing._

On the other...?

_I could accidentally burn down the entire world....that is **horrifying.**_

-I tried to push it from my mind.

_Sleep, first-_

Unresolved problems later.

_Nothing wake me up before 8-_

_Or 9-_

I flopped onto the bed.

Water sloshed.

I sat up-

“Cool!”

I bounced on it a couple times, enjoying the sound.

Then, I ran to the bathroom.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I had no toothbrush, so I couldn’t clean my teeth, but hey.

At least I still got the opportunity to curl up, and _sleep._

_. . . .?_

A persistent, dripping noise...above my head-

One eye flickered open.

“....?”

_Is the water bed leaking?_

-Yes, that was indeed my first thought.

I drowsily lifted myself up-

Someone was sitting there.

Staring at me.

“AHHHHHH-!???”

-Shhhh.

“You’re dreaming”.

“I-I’m what-“

“You’ll wake up after this is over”, I explained, “That’s how it works in all those books you read. . . .”

“Who are you?”

“Angelica”.

I tilted my head-

“Some like to call me the ‘Lady of the Lake’”.

-Her eyes widened, but I snorted.

“It’s not _that_ great”.

I huffed.

“Stupid Merlin...he came up with that after I hid in the water”.

“Why?”

“His Shadow Trick almost _ate_ me”.

I huffed twice.

“But I’m not here for me. . . .”

“Then...”

She cautiously slid off the other side.

“Do I know you? From somewhere-“

“No”.

“Then ho-“

“It’s your _fire”._

I indicated her sparking hands with a glance.

She jumped, and tried to put them out-

“They’re emotion-based. You can’t just fan them from existence”.

She stopped...

“How do you know?”

“You’re giving off magical waves like a siren calls a warning. . .or a spell calls help from afar-if you’re not careful, you’ll attract enemies, too”.

“Enemies?”

“You don’t have them?”

I tilted my head.

“Do you?”

“Not yet. . .”

“Same”.

She was still on her guard-

“Are you an enemy?”

“Depends”.

I shrugged.

“Are you going to ruin this world?”  
“No way!”

“Hmm. . .”

I focused on her burning hands.

They’d formed mitts, now. . . . . .

“I wouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket just yet”.

“What do you mean?”

Her red eyes blazed-

“Fire’s only as containable as its owner.

But I wonder-“

I float over.

She leans back-

“What will happen when someone makes you angry?

Will you unleash the End, then?”

She stared-

“. . . . . .Good night”.

I spritzed her with fairy tears.

Her eyelids fluttered, and she collapsed to the floor.

The fire dissipated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy...


	11. Chapter 10: Alice, Firestarter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little explanation is in order.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Food/hunger/eating, bad sleep. Fire.

.......?

Ugh....

I slowly woke up. . . .?

I was on top of my bed?

_Was that-conversation even real?_

I ran a hand over my eyes, I-

_Barely_ remembered it--

_I’m so tired. . ._

KNOCK-KNOCK.

“Alice? Are you-“  
“Yeah!”

I shouted-

“I’m coming. . . . .”

I stifled a yawn, then raced to the bathroom again.

“You look like you didn’t sleep a wink!”

“I didn’t?”

I rubbed my sockets.

-He, on the other hand, looked well-rested.

“You have dark circles”.

“Oh...”

I blinked.

“Oops”.

“It’s okay”.

I was impressed with how warm he was being.

“Okay”.

-Somehow, after an indeterminate amount of time, we entered a large cafeteria.

Everything was shining-white marble-

I think my jaw dropped to the floor.

He chuckled a little.

“You like it?”

“-Where are we!?”

_Ancient Greece!??_

“This is where they serve all the meals”.

He started forward, and smiled-

“They even have takeout on these”.

He pointed to a wall with a cluster of ornate-looking carts in front of it.

“Do you eat here?”  
“No”.

-I didn’t press.

I was just glad they had bacon and eggs.

_And_ orange juice.

“Yum!!”

My stomach was _growling-_

Now it was _his_ turn to be wide-eyed.

“-You ate that in like, .2 seconds”.

“I was hungry?”  
I grinned, sheepishly-

“I can tell”.

I tapped my hands in my lap.

“So...”

He looked up at me.

Well-

I mean, he was taller, but-

You get the idea.

The point was-

He was waiting for me to finish my sentence.

“You kind-of seem like....you know something about how I can make fire with my hands?”

“Is it that apparent?”

“You weren’t particularly worried when you first saw it-“

_I’m gonna assume he did-_

“You’re right”.

“-Wait I am-?”

-I didn’t really think...this is some fantasy fuel.

“Yup. . . . .”

He exhaled.

“I’m a plant person, but it’s not a big secret...you saw me transform, and all of that”.

I nodded-

He’d made his voice go low.

What did he not want people to hear?

“I’m coming from another realm that has to do with Dreams”.

“Okay-“

Sounded interesting.

“-You had a flicker two years ago.

A shipwreck spirit nearly took you over-“

When he said that, I remembered it.

I’d somehow managed to expel her with blue light-

“Ever since then, I’ve kept my eye on you”.

“That’s kinda weird. . . . . . “

“-N-Not like that-!!”

He blushed _deep-_ green.

“N-No way!!”

He moved his arms as if to brush the unpleasantness aside.

“I _swear_ to you it’s not like that”.

“Good”.

I laughed shakily-

_Lucky he’s not like the others._

“I-I’d just look from time to time-“

-He realized we were beginning to attract stairs.

He turned even _more_ green.

“A-Anyway-“

I felt a little bad for him.

I was shy, I’d had those moments in the past myself.

“The-the thing is, this School started to complain of magic leakage, and my brothers and I were called in.

-But they had to leave on an emergency...I opted to stay behind.

I had a feeling the owner of such power would be stopping by eventually......”

He drew in a breath.

“....And here you are”.

I gulped.

“But. . .how could I go through that mirror-“

“I’m not sure”, he admitted, “But it might be a case of something in your mind manifesting itself”.

“-You mean like my writing?”

“Have you written about mirrors?”

I felt my cheeks grow hot.

“I’ve. . .written about people going inside them to travel-“

“That might do it. Especially if you’re already craving an escape-“

-Now I felt kind-of...ashamed.

“I just.....”

I sighed.

“I feel like I’m not really in one place or the other, you know?

Like, where I live is calm....but-“

I paused.

_Is it advisable to say this?_

“Sometimes I’ll feel like I’m self-conscious because what I’m doing is so far removed from that, and I’m scared people close to me will find out and think I’m wasting something I’ll never have back”.

My fingers glowed a little.

“Do you...like it?”

“.......Sometimes”.

I took a sip of orange juice.

“I feel like I’m sitting in a place where my reactions are so out there, it’s like I was born on Planet Venus, though nobody seems to have noticed....my immediate family’s like that, too”.

“Maybe you were”.

“Born on Planet Venus?”

“You never know”.

“Hmm......”

-If that explained it, that’d be so cool...!

His eyes flicked downwards.

-My fingers were fully on fire-

“Oops-“

I mentally asked them to ‘turn off’-

I accidentally singed the table.

“. . . . . . . . . . .”

We both stared at the swirling, blue-black stain.

“Oops. . .”

I sheepishly rubbed my neck-

“It happens”.

He talked so matter-of-factly-

“By the way...”

I was busy looking at my nails, checking if there weren’t any flames left for sure-

“Now that we have most of this tangle straightened out, I just have one more question?”

“Yeah?”

_Nope, I think they’re gone-_

“You seemed to know me too?”

-I fell off the cafeteria bench.

Blue flames spiraled out around me in an embarrassed wave-

_Oh no. Oh dear. He noticed. What do I do-_

And the more agitated I got-

The more the waves rippled upwards, melting the tile under my palms.

Pitting the great, plaster columns-

“It’s getting hot in here”.

“What’s going on?”

“-Someone turn on the AC!!”

I tried to stand up, but my heel slipped.

Wet liquid splashed onto the back of my skirt-

_Just great-_

I tried again.

I stood-

Sticky, white palms.

“Ew. . .!”

“Alice!?”

Envy quickly stood up-

I panicked, not knowing what to relate, or how to start, and a giant jet of blue fire licked the ceiling.

_Annd_ the sprinklers.

-For the second time that week, there was a fire drill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have some flame for the Winter weather.


	12. Chapter 11: Alice & Sayori, Fire Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new cast member arrives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Fire, little bit self-dep.

Water poured down in sprinkling sheets.

-Kids screamed, got up and _ran..._

_I didn’t mean for this-_

“Alice-“

He was coming my way, a hand up to shield from the gushing rain-

“Sorry-“

I turned around and raced for the hallway.

I could still see fire trickling off of my wrists-

“Gotta deal with this first!!”

-‘Cause I don’t know about you, but I _don’t_ love the stupid, dramatic run-out.

He’d been pensive, shoulders drawn-up, but at my words, they relaxed.

I caught a brief smile and nod, and then I was booking it down the hallway.

Soaking wet.

I didn’t stop until I’d bashed open an exit door with my forearms.

“Ow-“

Oh well-

The sun was high in the air again-

I staggered.

Winded.

_-I’ve gotta go out more. . . . ._

I used to be able to do laps around the backyard, but this wasn’t my house anymore, and in college I didn’t want to risk being kidnapped.

. . . . .Everyone hears the stories.....

-That was neither here nor there.

I had to get this fire under control-!

O _kay don’t do that, it’s not even July 4 th._

I cringed at the sparking embers up in the sky-

_At least it’s not causing any more damage?_

The smoke floated over campus, and it was _anything_ but sweet-smelling.

_-Eww...._

No, I was just going to destroy the air quality instead.

Darn it...

I tried to avoid the trees-

_A well!  
_ I made a beeline for it, completely forgetting my exhaustion.

_Water-_

I thrust my hands in until fresh coldness engulfed my elbows.

Steam erupted-

I spluttered as it hit me in the face.

_Oof._

But hey.

It took care of the problem-

I sighed with relief.

Now my hands were as wrinkly as prunes.

I shook off the excess droplets.

_-I think the Headmistress is going to kick me out._

What a pleasant thought.

I wished I hadn’t brought it forth in my mind.

_Poor Envy might lose his magic-_

Or not?

I _did_ take care of it before something _really_ major happened....

But still.

If I’d failed him already-

_-No one give me powers ever again._

_I can’t handle it-_

I turned to head back to the school.

-The bushes rustled.

“Huh-“

“-?”

Somebody else was out here too-

She had a pair of gray binoculars around her neck.

“Oh...hi! Have you seen the Golden-breasted Bluebird around here?”

“No?”

“Ah, and I’ve been searching for a while, too....”

Pink ponytails drooped.

“Well. . .thanks anyway-“

“You’re welcome-“

I waved.

“Good luck!”

“Thank you-“

I heard the sound of a siren.

I stopped.

_Oh_ no. . .

_-Is there a fire somewhere?_

She lost her smile a bit.

“. . .What’s that about?”

“-May have set off the sprinklers”.

She grimaced-

“I’ve gotta go back.....”

“Oof...”

That didn’t seem like much fun-

“Good luck to you too”.

“Thanks”.

She started across the grass, little puffs of blue spurting from her feet in the process.

_-Wait, what-_

I did a double-take.

“Uhh-you’re-“

“Huh?”

She looked down.

“-!!”

She crouched, and tried to put it out.

But it didn’t work-

“Run!!”

I backed away from the sudden blaze-

“You’re really burning fire-“

“It’s-It’s a whole thing-“

“Uh-um-“

-I spun around, and ran for the well!

I fumbled with the bucket--

Sloshing.

I didn’t want to lose too much-!!

SPLASH

The girl sneezed.

“Thank you-“

“You’re welcome. . . .”

I held out my hand?

“-Just a minute”.

She fluttered her fingers.

Nothing. . .

“Okay”.

-Despite what I’d seen, she was _very_ cold.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to go back?”

“.......I don’t know.....”

She clasped her hands.

“So much for doing homework. . . . .”

“-Ha”.

-It isn’t funny....

“.....Tendo Sayori. . . . .I’m only in town for another day before I head to New York....”

I struggled to think of-

“Japan is very different from here”.

“Woah, that’s amazing!”

Her eyes shone.

“I get anxious even trying to think of traveling anywhere on my own-“

Her veins flickered blue.

“Aw, man-“

“Can’t hurt to start small”.

“....Yeah”.

They calmed, somewhat.

“Um...I’m Alice-“

“Alice?”

“Uh-huh....I kinda went through a Looking Glass”.

“Is that possible?”

“Apparently to some degree...”

She shifted in place.

“It was pretty cool”.

“I bet...”

I tucked the bucket under my arm.

“I’m gonna put this back at the well-“

She nodded.

_She’s nice._

I wondered if she also had a Guest room here.

_And she didn’t look at me strange for causing mini-blazes right and left._

It was a welcome change from people being worried-

_Not that I blame them._

As wonderfully awesome as it was, it also scared me.

If I got freaked out enough, what _would_ I do?

That conversation with Angelica-

_I’d like to_ believe _I wouldn’t doom the world-_

Or maybe just the building I was in.

I could barely keep from flaming this exact second.

Could I think of nothing for a while?

Could that help-

Sayori reappeared.

“I hope you don’t mind I didn’t fill it up again-“

“It’s fine”.

Though how I was going to talk to Envy without alighting, I didn’t know-

Oh, shoot.

My hands-

“-It’s hard to wrangle.....”

“I didn’t have this much trouble yesterday-“

“Every day is different?”

“It’s both good and a curse”.

I focused on the warmth lighting my fingernails.

-I had no idea what I was doing.

If I was even _supposed_ to feel anything-

My head blanked.

I was fixating my gaze onto an invisible point.

It was quiet there.

_-Is it bad to be glad I’m just an ordinary human?_

The blue kept fluctuating on her arms.

_I’d be so paranoid._

And setting off fire drills was serious business-

“I can walk with you?”

“....I don’t want to burn you-“

“You won’t if I stay a good couple meters away”.

“Okay....”

Maybe I could convince them not to punish her?

-That was the idea, but...

As we walked, I nervously clutched my binoculars.

_They might just accuse_ me _of trespassing instead._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It finally snowed again over here. Good luck on final exams!


	13. Chapter 12: Moon, Entrance Rate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you happen to be in the right place, at just the wrong time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Mention food, spiders.

I was at school, waiting to be accepted.

I fidgeted in the Waiting Room...

I’d left my home town and my Coffee House miles away.

-I hoped my friends wouldn’t forget about me-!!

I pulled on my sweatshirt strings.

The twine felt hot.

I must’ve been _that_ nervous...

Oh dear.

_“-WHAT-!??”_

-I nearly jumped out of the chair-!??

An angry woman in a red dress stomped out of the door.

“That is the _second_ time in barely two days!!”

_-Huh?_

“Er. . .um-“

-She stormed right by me.

“O....okay-“

_She’s...just busy, that’s all-_

.......What was I supposed to do now-

As soon as she’d gone, it was so silent...

I got up.

_Huh?_

_What am I doing-_

I peeped into the Admissions Office.

_Th-There’s my file-!_

There was my face, my short hair, my red eyes.

_......Am I accepted?_

Was it cheating to look?

I wouldn’t do anything. . . . . .

I just wanted to see-

I took a step in.

_It’s just harmless-_

I wasn’t planning on going anywhere even if it had a big ‘REJECTED’, pasted across the bottom-

_Oh._

‘The cut-off for the program is 18. . . .’

Although I _look_ 15, I’m 20.

_I see. . . . . . ._

I tried not to feel- _too_ disappointed.......

_I guess....I guess I missed that-_

I could admit I’d made a mistake...

As long as I didn’t get _yelled at_ for it-

_I hate yelling._

So scary....

I moved away.

_I’m good with languages but not official forms, I guess._

Because people from everywhere came by often for the carnival, I’d picked up a lot of nuances on how they spoke.

I’d gotten well-known enough that my friends tended to joke I was the Ultimate Linguist.

_-I never did end up watching that anime...._

I had a nightmare once about being dissolved by acid spiders.

_....But that’s neither here nor there now-_

It took a long time to get to the school.

_I wonder if I still have pocket change left for the bus-?_

I’ll need to get home somehow....

I stood in the hallway, trying to figure out-

“-Pardon me”.

-This tall person appeared from nowhere-!??

“Did you see a Lady In Red-“

“Th-that way”.

I did it without thinking-

“Great, thanks”.

He strode off, and I was left with my head spinning.

_Who was that?_

_Are they trying to be accepted, too?_

I’d only spotted two files on the desk, though.

One closed...

_Should I warn them?_

She’d looked to be in an _awful_ mood-

“Uh. . .um, hey-!”

I sprinted down the hall-

“W-Wait-“

_Ahhh, what am I doing-_

_Okay, okay...._

_Keep it together._

Casual.

Just keep it casual-

“I _did_ see her, but-“

“She’s not having a good day, is she”.

“Nope....”

He sighed.

“I had a feeling-“

“She might snap at you-“

“Oh she _definitely_ will”.

A regretful smile spread on his face.

“Thanks for the warning”.

“.....You’re welcome”.

I slowed to a stop.

I watched him turn a corner and vanish-

_....Did that help?_

I was honestly unsure. . . . . . .

_I hope it did...._

After thinking about it for a while, I came to a decision:

It wouldn’t be good to leave without accepting the results first. . .which were that I wasn’t getting accepted.

It wasn’t the end of the world. . . .

Although it would have been cool to learn magic.

This was one of the biggest in the world.

Yet. . .

The semester’s been kind-of thrown out-of-whack, hasn’t it?

That was why she’d been upset about the fire drill. . . . . .

Though I hadn’t heard anything by the time I’d gotten here.

. . .

So what was she doing before she left?

-Why did I come up with that!?

I couldn’t possibly...snoop, that would be wrong!!

_But I’m probably going to be sitting here outside her office for a while. . . ._

Maybe I could look during the interview.

_Won’t be much of one, oof._

Yeah.....

-Before I could talk myself out of it, I peered in through the door again.

_Moon-_

Why did I do that.

.........

_Huh._

It was actually a pretty sweet room.

Deep-red drapes, the wooden desk (I surveyed the whole area this time), a bookshelf in one corner, and a golden metal globe.

_It’s Renaissance-like in a way..._

I did it.

I stepped inside.

_-Oh no._

My heartbeat was in my ears-!

_If I get_ caught-

Please don’t let me get caught-!

_If she walks in right then, I am more toasted than toast-_

I’ll be a burnt piece of bread on a skewer!!

_Me and my food metaphors..._

I _really_ should have gone back to bed instead of staying up at 5. . . .

Too late to change it.

-But that isn’t what’s important here!

_I’ve got to **seriously** nap on the ride home._

_I can’t forget-_

_I’m looking for a secret._

And in all of the books and movies I have ever seen, there was one hidden place they each had in common:

A loose novel.

I crossed over there-

I winced as the floor squeaked.

_Not the creaky plank-!_

That was always getting people into trouble. . . . .

I didn’t want it to snag me too!!

-When nothing exploded into light or sound, or what-have-you, I relaxed.

_There we go. . . .that’s better....._

I felt over the old bindings.

Velvety-

A cloud of dust erupted from one, making me sneeze.

“Ah-choo-!!”

_Whoops._

I sniffled-

_Anybody hear that?_

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

When I wasn’t intruded upon, I could safely conclude that no, no one had.

_Phew._

My fingers closed on a blue, ornate cover.

Hard wood.

I stiffened-

_Could it be-?_

I pulled on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wouldn't you like to find a secret passage?


	14. Chapter 13: 'All', It Comes Crashing Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When everyone collides at once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Brief spider. Yelling. Food/eating.

-With a soft _click,_ the whole book shelf swung out.

_Oh I knew it-!_

I swallowed.

_What’ll it be like...?_

Jitters crept up and down my spine.

I entered past the threshold...stairs.

Stone stairs, curling around a black banister.

The emptiness and silence made me feel so dizzy-!

But I made it to the bottom in one piece...

_-! Wow..._

A giant, flowering stalk held many orbs.

And in those orbs was a different image:

A gallery,

A classroom,

A garden,

A swimming pool,

A front promenade-

I’d found the School’s camera system.

_. . .I’m a bit of a fool, aren’t I?_

-Maybe just a little....

I sighed in relief.

_-I thought it’d be some kind of evil magic lab or something._

Thank goodness I was wrong!

I turned away.

I climbed back up the stairs.....

_H...Huh-!?_

It was a solid wall.

I beat on it with my fists.

“HELLO!?

I’M IN HERE-“

I couldn’t hear anything from the other side!!

“I’M TRAPPED!!

HELP-“

I felt around for loose bricks.

A key?

Could I pry it out-?

No, no, and no-

_I’m stuck-_

I returned to the Camera Room.

_There’s gotta be a way to bring someone here!!_

I searched through the potions on the table, but I didn’t want to mess with them.

I played with the hands of a clock face-

A spider crawled from behind, and I shrieked.

_No spiders-!!_

I backed into a reflective lens.

_Ew, ew, ew-!_

I felt . . . tired

. . . ?

My eyes opened-

It was dark.

“H. . .hello?”

I felt like I was repeating myself...

“Who’s th-there-“

Violet eyes gleamed.

“I thought I sensed something-“

“Y-you did?”

He came into the light-

A man in gold-

“Well I must have, if you’re here now”.

“Where’s the Camera?”

“Camera?”

“Where I was-“ I stammered, “Th-there was a camera-“

“-I saw it”, someone else said.

A flash of silver.

Red-and-blue eyes-

“Wh-who are you two!?”

“Anubis”.

He held out his hand...

I hesitantly let him help me up.

“Angelica”.

“Moon...”

“Well you’ve been unconscious for quite some time, Moon”, he told me, “A lot has happened since we pulled you from the space”.

“Huh? Like what-“

“It’s 1 AM”, Angelica said simply, “The next bus doesn’t come until 8”.

“What!?”

_I missed it!?_

“H-how did you know-“

“You mumbled something about it in your sleep”, he off-handedly mentioned.

“. . .!”

My cheeks lit up-

“O...oh”.

I pushed my hands into the glowing skin.

“Th-thank you, then-“

“It was nothing”, he promised, “But I don’t suppose you’d like to stay here until daylight? You never know what could prowl at night”.

_No kidding._

“Sure. . .?”

“Then let us hurry-“ Angelica cut in, I was startled by how _young_ she sounded-

“We’ve lost track of them already”.

_Them?_

“Them who-“

I haven’t been in trouble very often.

But when I do-

_“-What on_ earth _were you thinking!?_

_Blowing it the_ instant-!!”

I must have screwed up **bad.**

_She’d been waiting for me on the portico, face swollen red with rage._

_Sayori had pat me on the shoulder-_

_“I’m sorry-“_

_“You_ should _be-“_

_“-Er, ma’am?”_

_“-Who are you?”_

_“Um, Tendo Sayori, I was just visiting when I met her-“_

_“Hmm!?”_

_I tensed, and her smile became stretched._

_“It seems-to me that it’s just a case of anxiety manifesting itself?”_

_“-Is that so?”_

_I felt a **flush** coming on._

_I nodded. . ._

I had just wanted it to be _over_ already.

This dream had turned into a nightmare, so fast-

_“Well might have_ mentioned _that is how it was when we were talking before-“_

_“I know-“_

But I hadn’t known, then.

_“I just realized it-“_

_“That is **no** excuse!”_

_. . . . . . . . ._

Her eyebrows had shriveled like dried prunes when the _smell_ had drifted in from the burnt _grass._

_“You set_ another one!??”

_“Sorry-!!”_

_“I ought to-!!”_

I’d been cold and hot at the same time.

_“-Headmistress!”_

And then it’d gotten **worse-**

_“You!!!”_

Envy’s neck had rashed green-

_“....Hi-“_

_“That’s all you can say to me-!??”_

_“-I take it you’re not...happy?”_

_“No. I am **furious”.**_

She’d snarled-

_“Say goodbye to your ma-“  
“Wait-“_

But I must have not said it loud enough-

_“What’s going on here?”_

She’d stopped sparking red danger from her outstretched fingertips.

A quartet had gathered-

A small girl with pink eyes blinked up at Envy curiously, and he winced.

_Do they know each other?_

The bear in her arms shifted-

_-I wish I could appreciate the cuteness._

_“I found our fire bug”,_ the Headmistress had clipped, _“Nothing to see here-“_

_“O. . .kay-“_

The father had shot the mom an uncomfortable glance.

_“Well. . .”_

_“-Have a good night”,_ she’d said, and then the four of them shuttled off.

Envy was looking _so_ mortified-

The Headmistress didn’t even _need_ to say anything.

She’d just glared, and glared, and-

_“-I can go back through the Mirror”,_ I’d finally spoken up, _“I’ll never visit here again-“_

Sayori’s eyes had widened in shock, and Envy’s gaze had abruptly reverted to me.

_“If it means he can keep his magic, and everyone else will be safe”._

Though how I would control it in my _own_ world was the real question-

_“I even remember which Mirror it was. . . .so can you please, just....”_

I’d _willed_ her mentally-

_“Let him continue to live here as is?”_

_“Alice. . . .”_ he’d started-

But...

_“.......”_

The sparks had faded from her hands entirely.

_“-I think that would be the best for the school and you as well, my dear”._

As soon as she’d given me permission, I’d rushed off at once-!

_“Alice-“_

_“Goodbye-“_ Sayori had called-

I’d _sprinted_ to the glass, and I hadn’t looked back.

Once.

“-I see....I see-“

I nodded, although Mr. Hinasaki couldn’t see me on the other end of the line.

“I thought it was a little weird when they panic-shut the school down at the last minute-“

I hadn’t even read the email:

I’d just seen _‘-Spontaneous fire Warning No. 2’,_ and I’d gone right back to bed, shhh, don’t tell anyone!

-That was yesterday at eight in the morning.

Now it’s eight in the morning today!

I was at the sandwich shop, waiting for my breakfast order.

It was ‘Bring-In-The-Paperwork Day’, and ‘Begin-Initial-Work’!!

_I’m coming, Mabel! Don’t you worry._

-The Front-Counter Person set down my bag.

“Thank you!”

I paid for it with the only credit card I owned, and then went outside.

-I almost tripped over a-

A leg.

“Hello?”

“Wha-oh, hello-“

“That’s a dangerous place to sit”.

“I know, but the benches were all wet”.

“Oof. . .”

_That doesn’t sound like much fun. . ._

“What’s your name?”

I opened the crinkly mouth of the bag, and broke my hummus bread in half.

“I’m Lynn”.

“....Morgan-is that for me?”

“Yup”.

..................................

They didn’t say anything for a long time.

“Morgan?”

“. . . . .Sorry-“

A sniff-

“It’s just. . .been a while since I’ve had a stroke of good luck-“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty bleak, but still some hope.


	15. Chapter 14: Miley, The New Kid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life calms, and goes on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Pyromania, smoking mentions. Bug mentions.

“I’m what?”

“-You’re _just_ a touch too old for this, my dear”.

The Headmistress looked at me sadly.

“You _do_ have potential, however. . .being hailed as the ‘Ultimate Interpretive Dancer’ is quite a feat”.

“Thank you”.

_That’s what happens when you put your heart into it-_

“I _might_ be able to have you in on a Special Scholarship. . .like I was going to do for someone else”.

Her eyes got harder when she said that.

“-Wouldn’t that be cheating?”

_I don’t want any shortcuts-_

“No, because you wouldn’t be the only student here on it”.

She scribbled on my file with a quill pen-

“I only need to know:”

Her face switched from impartial to stern in the blink of an eye.

“How well can you control this power?”

“Pretty well?”

-Is that a routine question or something?

“How ‘well’ does that mean?”

I blinked.

“I don’t have any problems at all”.

“Okay”.

Scribbling.

“I will let the Administrators know to phase you in. You’ll have the room recently vacated-“

“Recently”.

“-Life is never dull around here”.

A dry smile.

“Here you are”.

An iron key was in her hand.

I reluctantly took it. . .

_-Am I really going to like it here?_

“-Wow. You’re brave”.

My hand was _barely_ on the knob.

“Excuse me?”

There was some guy leaning on the wall like he had nothing better to do.

He had brown hair, and his cloak was rumpled.

“Who are you?”

“Who are you?” he fired right back-

“Are you new or something?”

“Yes”.

“Guess that explains it. . .”

The delinquent looked away.

“Explains what?”

I just wanted to unpack already-

“You missed the pyromaniac”.

“What!?”

I about dropped the key!!

“What pyromaniac!?”

“Some girl”.

He shrugged-

“You couldn’t miss her, she was the only blue-haired kid on campus”.

“What happened!?”

“Set off the fire alarm too many times.

Got chased out by the Headmistress.

 _Everyone_ knows-“

“-They do?”

I could feel my hackles raise-

“Well yeah...”

He pulled the fabric tighter around himself.

“She talked to monsters too...that’s what my dad said-“

“That doesn’t mean she’s bad”.

“-You think I spoke to her long enough to make that call...well I didn’t-“

-His attitude was going to make me blow up.

“So why does that make me brave?”

“It’s probably burnt to cinders by now”.

And he stalked into the next corridor before I could even-

_Darn that kid-!_

The rumors flew here, too?

_...That’s not a good sign-_

I gripped the key firmly.

I inserted it into the lock, and twisted-

A soft ‘click’.

I was in.

Contrary to his belief, it was not, indeed, ‘burnt to cinders’.

Though the singes in the carpet lent some credence to his story-

The ceiling also had a couple smoke rings stained into it.

_Maybe she was addicted to cigarettes or something._

You got people help for that, you didn’t kick them out-

But my theory was somewhat disproven by the fact that he’d called her a ‘pyromaniac’.

_You get people help for that too-_

So they don’t end up like my-

. . .

I sucked in a breath.

_-Am I honestly considering trying to find out why I have this room?_

Was it actually going to serve me any good, in the long run?

_You’ve been enrolled for not-even twenty minutes. Don’t mess it up._

-I flopped onto the bed.

 _My_ bed.

How strange was that-

_Never in a million years did I expect that they’d send me the letter._

-I accidentally dozed off.

I loved long bus rides, my iPod could make the silence bearable in spades.

It also depleted my energy.

 _-It’s so_ dark _in here!_

I’d forgotten to draw the curtains, and open the windows.

_Great. . . ._

I sat up, drowsily blinking.

_Where did I put my suitcase again?_

It’d be real fun to fall and break my nose-

_Don’t tempt it._

I tread carefully-

Into a wall.

“Ow-“

_That smart-_

I grasped for fabric.

I touched spiderweb.

“Ugh. . .!”

I quickly wiped it onto the skirt of my leotard.

“Gross”.

I had nothing against bugs, personally.

I just didn’t particularly care for them crawling on me.

-Oh _there_ we are!

I threw the red drapes as far wide as they could go-

 _Right_ into a glorious sunset.

_Gorgeous...!!_

Now I knew why some people brought a camera with them everywhere.

Sights like these you’d only ever see once. . . . .

My spirits sank a little.

Yeah.

By tomorrow, things would look entirely different.

I swallowed a sudden lump, and undid the latch.

-Needed some air in here...

The breeze ruffled my bangs.

Crisp, Autumn scent...

I’d blend right in to the orange sunlight.

My hair, my clothes-

Minus my eyes.....

Those were an icy-blue.

Scared the everloving crap out of anyone who met me.

My dad used to say that. . . . .

.....

Well maybe, they _should_ be afraid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! New person.


	16. Chapter 15: Miley & Michael, The Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Food/eating. Mention murder/suicide. Weapons.

The difference between me, and most people, was that if I had an issue with you, I would straight-up tell you to your face.

If that meant I had a hardened look to my eyes, so be it. Better that, than making someone else . . .

I went for my stuff.

It was too late to get wrapped up in the past.

...The cafeteria food actually tasted good!

I was shocked-

_That’s about as likely as seeing a unicorn!_

And yet here I was, having followed the complimentary map to the best-grilled Parmesan chicken I had ever eaten in my life-

_Mm-am I dreaming!?_

I pinched myself on the way to the wash station:

_OW-nope._

Despite that, I still found something a bit of a damper.

Slight gray streaks in the marble columns.

Leftover smoke...

They couldn’t quite clean all of it away.

I solemned up.

_Who around here would know-_

And would be willing to tell me just the same?

_He said she spoke to a monster, hmm . . ._

-I became aware of a presence.

_Right_ there-

“AAAH-!?!!”

The floating, purple-!

I fumed.

“The heck do you think you’re doing!?”

“Waiting for you to notice”.

The stupid idiot grinned, eyes closed!!

“-I could’ve smacked you-!!!”

“Nah~” he said landing neatly on the ground, “You couldn’t catch me”.

“Wanna bet?”

“Nooo, I’m busy”.

He opened one eye.

-His pupils weren’t black!?

“-I see you’re surprised”.

I tightened my lips-

“Not every day you meet a-“

“-Demon”, “I finished, “and it’s late evening”.

He shrugged.

“It’s all the same to me. . .”

“Miley...” I said cautiously, “And you?”

“Michael”.

I scoffed, “No way”.

“Yes way”.

He bowed, arm crooked-

Black-violet folds of his cloak billowed into my nose!

I scowled, backed up, and itched it-

“Michael The Demon, at your service....”

“What does the Angel have to say about that?”

He put a finger to his lips:

“Shh!”

Miss Miley.

I tilted my head.

“Are you an aspiring wizard?”

“I don’t know, I’m new here”.

She raised an eyebrow, folded her arms.

“What’s your excuse?”

“I will be your Underclassman next year”.

“-What”.

“It’s true-“

I dug out my file-

“Most people cannot tell who is a Demon, and who isn’t”.

She met my stare evenly.

“-So how did _you_ know”.

I kept my voice low.

If the Headmistress had wind, I would be peddled from the college green with my head on a plate.

Riiiight?

She bit her tongue.

“-I don’t want to go there, here, it’s too crowded-“

“Fine by me”.

The back terrace.

Smooth.

Vines grew up the chiseled architecture here.

“So what’s the story?”

I floated on my back-

“Care to explain?”

She gave me a _look._

_-Hit a nerve, did I?_

“My. . .mom, had those eyes. Okay?”

“-Hm?”

_-Pardon?_

“I thought it was just...tired eyes-“

She sighed.

“A lot of people were upset she chose dad over ‘them’”.

“Ah. . .”

“I never saw it. That’s what he told me”.

“And. . .?”

“I don’t remember much. . . .”

Her voice grew thick...

“But I know one thing;

The last time I watched her leave, she had those eyes”.

...

_-How worried should_ I _be then?_

_‘I’ll only be a while...groceries-‘_

_‘Mommy, I’m scared!’_

_‘I know, M...’_

_She picked the little child up._

_‘I know. . . .but I’ll be back okay?’_

_A blinding smile-_

_‘I promise’._

_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

_The phone rang 30 minutes later._

_‘I’m sorry. . .we can’t find her-‘_

_But her shoe was in the river._

......Now that I’m thinking about it, all the piles of pebbles she’d carry everywhere were a sign.

-The discourse online was _bad._

‘Was it murder?’

‘Was it suicide?’

‘You should all be ashamed of yourselves’.

‘I’m glad she’s gone’.

-It wasn’t until I was seventeen that the words I’d been left with my whole life:

‘Mom had to go somewhere for a long, long while-‘

They were explained.

-But that was another story.

“I really know nothing, other than that”.

“. . .”

“-Should I be worried?”

-He wasn’t expecting that, he flinched a little.

“No, no, I’m-good”.

“. . .Good”.

I scuffed my foot awkwardly against the floor.

‘...Ever heard of a pyromaniac in these parts?”

“-The Rumor Mill has been spinning again-“

“I heard she got expelled”.

_Chased off..._

“...I think I want to find her”.

“You think it will be like that-?”

The first words I come up with.

_Brilliant job, Michael-_

Hmm.

_Maybe she_ is _right to worry._

“I’m not sure of anything”.

-Basically a confirmation, minus the confirmation part.

“Ever heard of a ‘monster’?”

“No, goodness, what _are_ they saying?”

“A lot of drivel, apparently”.

She sighed.

“This is stressing me out. I’m going to bed-“

“Have a nice rest-“

“You too”.

She turned and left.

-Did I botch that?

-I probably did. . .

_Oh well._

Too late to take it back, now...

I gathered up the tails of my cloak, and faded into a shadow.

They didn’t like that he was an average joe.

_Literally_ named Joe.

She was supposed to not date in the contract for movie reasons, and then I happened nine months in.

I laid down on the bed.

_Why’d I let him-_

I _could’ve_ said it was personal.

_Why did you **do** that-!?_

I curled up.

_.....Well maybe history was gonna repeat itself._

-What?

No way-

_That guy?_

He couldn’t have been in more high spirits.

_You’re just paranoid,_ my inner voice scolded me.

_And you better **pray** he doesn’t tell anyone._

Monster.

Monster...

_Monster._

_Where,_ would I find a monster-

_Why am I doing this-/_

Oh yeah...

_Because I’m interested._

And it’s not like there are kids involved. . .

_Good luck for me._

But who to ask...

I tapped my chin.

I should be well-stocked for a fight, at least....

I have enough knives and bombs to last me a _century._

-Now who’s making all that noise?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more left.


	17. Chapter 16: Morgan, The Listener

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One friend left to be found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Food/eating. Ostracized mention.

-She didn’t have to let me in.

I’d explained...uh, that I had nowhere to stay currently, and she said:

_‘Whaaat!? But it’s gonna be so cold later!!’_

And then I was like:

_‘Don’t worry, I’ll make snowmen-‘_

_‘No way! I have room in my house, c’mon!!’_

_‘-Wait wha-‘_

And _that_ was kinda the end of it.

I think.

-To be real, memories of yesterday _are_ quite fuzzy.

I was lying on a couch, with a blanket on me.

The lights weren’t on.

It was like, _1_ AM, if the flickering digits knew what they were conveying to the rest of the world-

I was _tired._

_So_ tired...

I could barely see straight.

But I kept my eyes open just the same.

One:

I had to use the bathroom,

And two:

I just wanted to see if my reality...was really my reality.

I got up.

I padded over to the refrigerator-

-I ate an apple.

I didn’t think she’d mind-

_‘What’s mine is yours, you know?’_

I nearly crushed the core.

_Don’t tear up here-!!_

I pressed a hand to my eyes-

_Keep it together. . ._

But I’d been doing that for _weeks._

But I didn’t want to wake her up-

_She’s just a kid...compared to you-_

I could sense it in the way she spoke.

Her mannerisms.

_If she’s so young, why is she on her own like this?_

-The thought of her having to move out of a bad home...

It made me sick?

_She’s being so kind-_

A cruel possibility I didn’t want to see.

-So I drank some milk.

_-That’s better._

I brushed strands of my hair from my mouth-

_Don’t want to make calcium disgusting. . ._

-I drank another quart, and then re-interred the carton.

_After-midnight snacks always heal wounds._

My mom had told me that, once.

I believed her.

-When I went back to the couch, I couldn’t help but wonder if I _could_ fall asleep again.

_Everything is weird. . ._

I didn’t particularly feel like having nightmares about it.

_-But I’m sure I won’t..._

Lynn was too full of tranquil vibes for that.

They had to have filled the whole room-

What did she think of me?

Hanging out here in such a fashion-

Did she mind?

_Everyone else had a closed door-_

I couldn’t imagine the reason, though You know I'd tried in the past.

Though if I had to take a wild guess, I would have stated it was because they thought me a, ‘certified oddball’-

_-I can’t go making myself sad, it’s only 1:30!_

I lightly poked my cheeks.

_Just sleep...you can ask in the daytime._

I pulled the blanket up over my head.

H u h . . ...

-Food.

Smell.

I groggily opened eyes-

“Morning”.

Soft voice.

-I mumbled something incoherent, and drifted back off to Dream Land.

. . . . . I felt more ‘there’, the second time.

“...Hello?”

“Hi Sleepy. It’s 3 ‘o’clock”.

‘It is!?”

I shot upright.

-Ignoring the fuzz-

“Oh dear. Is the food frozen!??”

“Nah, it’s doing okay”.

She handed over a plate.

Toast, carrot sticks, and cream cheese.

“For you”.

“Thank you. . .”

It tasted so heavenly I could have sworn I was _in_ Heaven.

“You’re an excellent cook!”

“Aw, thank you-“

She laughed.

It was lovely.

“.....Why did you let me in?”

“What?”

“-I’m a lot older than you are...aren’t you afraid?”

“Mmm....”

She blinked.

Once.

Twice-

Triple--

“No”.

“How come?”

It boggled my mind.

“. . .You seem nice. You act nice-“

“Sometimes people fake it...”

“I wouldn’t be able to tell if you were. . . .”

She sighed, softly, but it wasn’t unhappy.....

“But I don’t know. Maybe it’s. . .your voice?”

“My voice?”

_Is it unique?_

“It’s just...open”.

I gulped.

“Is it?”

How raw must I be, then?

“Yeah.......”

I swallowed hard.

“Define ‘open’”.

“There’s no...lying?”

She rubbed her skull.....

It was a very cloud-like movement.

_She may as well be a human butterfly._

“People’s voices get higher...if they’re pretending. . .but you don’t do that”.

“Cool”.

-It wasn’t quite an adequate response.

It was all I could manage.

She’d relayed that to the atmosphere-

And I’d realized she was _right._

Not a person I had ever _met,_ not a _soul-_

_I can’t even remember half the sentences they promised to my **face-**_

Mostly of being abominably busy to talk to me.

I didn’t register I had dropped the plate until I smelled butter on me.

“Oh no-!!”

-She was at the counter in an instant!

She went through cupboards like a pro-

“Here-“

A washcloth.

I was sucking on my teeth the whole hour we cleaned-

“. . .”

What was I trying to keep it bottled for?

“. . . Adults are scary?”

That _hit._

“F...forgive me-“

“For what?”

She sprayed the fabric a last round.

“You didn’t do anything bad”.

“-I know....”

-She made a beeline for the tissues.

I half-snickered, half-coughed-

“Thank...you. . .”

“You’re welcome”.

-She flapped her hands in the air a minute, uncertain of where to put them.

-In the end,

(In the end),

she gave me a hug?

“It’s. . .it’s just-if I let it _gut_ me. . . . .I probably wouldn’t have been able to move-“

She was still uncertain.

I could feel it in the tenseness of her muscles-

I patted her arm.

“You’re the first person to show me kindness in a long while. . . .”

“But you’re-“

“They don’t like me”, I admitted, to myself.......

“This town doesn’t like different people-“

I couldn’t stop.

“I _should_ leave-I know that.....”

Pain rolled over me in waves.

_Owwwch-_

“But what about the different people left behind?”

“Are there any...?”

-The hesitant question.

_. . . . . I’m not sure._

I didn’t speak-

“Do you have parents, or guardians, or anyone?”

“To call. . .” I answered hollowly, “I don’t have change”.

“You can use my phone......”

“.....Thank you-“

-But I couldn’t do it.

Not at that moment-

“I hate that I have to go anywhere”.

And she didn’t speak.

But her muscles un-tensed.

And I could tell, that she agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of this one. May write more, we'll see someday. Got a lot of other stuff to finish, too. X)

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to develop my characters outside of everything, too, so here is this.


End file.
